How to build an exosome
Inside cells, large multi-subunit machines carry out many essential processes, yet the principles governing their assembly are often poorly understood. Postdoc Tsimafei Navalayeu from the Ameres lab at the Perutz has now mapped the assembly of the RNA exosome in mammalian cells using an inducible CRISPR-based system. The work, published in EMBO Journal, reveals an intricate, stepwise assembly pathway of the multi-subunit exosome, and the quality control mechanisms that regulate its biogenesis
E-STEEM Fellowship for Émeline Laborie to study centrosome biophysics
Postdoctoral researcher Émeline Laborie has been awarded an E-STEEM Fellowship from the University of Vienna and will join the Dammermann lab in September. The E-STEEM program provides support for four years and promotes outstanding women in STEM and Economics. Émeline will use computational biophysics to investigate how centrosomes and microtubules coordinate the self-organization of the spindle apparatus during cell division. Her work aims to uncover the physical principles underlying centrosome and spindle self-organization.
Net zero – using a basket to control enzymatic activity
Faithful chromosome segregation during meiosis depends on the spatial and temporal coordination of dramatic changes in cellular and subcellular architecture. In a new study published in Cell Reports, first author Rahel Wettstein from the Matos lab has uncovered an unexpected role for the nuclear pore complex in controlling crossover formation through regulation of SUMOylation dynamics in yeast. By linking nuclear pore basket components to the localization of a SUMO protease, the work reveals how nuclear architecture shapes meiotic recombination outcomes.
Meet MutLγ: a rising crossover star
Meiotic crossing-over is a fundamental process in sexual reproduction that reshuffles genetic information between homologous chromosomes and ensures their correct segregation. In a new study published in Nature Communications, first author Lucija Orlić from the Matos lab dissects how different DNA repair enzymes resolve recombination intermediates and uncover a previously unknown structural role for the enzyme Top3 that is essential for their resolution into crossovers.
FWF grant for Bojan Žagrović to explore hidden potential of frameshift mutations
Perutz group leader Bojan Žagrović has been awarded funding from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) for a three-year project investigating how frameshift mutations reshape proteins and drive evolution. Frameshift mutations alter the genetic reading frame, dramatically changing the resulting protein sequence. Consequently, they are generally considered to be deleterious. Bojan and his collaborators aim to challenge this long-standing view by combining novel computational approaches, AI-based protein structure prediction, and experimental validation to study whether some frameshifted proteins can still adopt functional, native-like structures.
The more, the merrier? How extra chromosomes help cancer cells survive
Cancer cells often turn an abnormal number of chromosomes – aneuploidy – from a harmful condition into a survival advantage. By studying engineered aneuploid yeast strains, the Campbell lab shows in a study published in EMBO Reports that drug resistance does not arise from single genes, but from subtle, combined changes across many genes at once. These findings may help to explain why aneuploidy is so common in cancer and influence how scientists search for therapeutic targets.
Condensates and gene control: Theresia Brennecke awarded BIF PhD Fellowship
Theresia Brennecke from the Köhler lab has been awarded a prestigious PhD Fellowship from the Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds (BIF) to study how biomolecular condensates influence gene transcription in cells. The highly competitive BIF fellowship – where applicants compete with the top 5% of students worldwide – provides up to 3.5 years of funding and access to an international network of fellows, with fewer than 10% of candidates selected following a rigorous evaluation by external experts and the BIF board.
Traffic control at the molecular scale
During protein synthesis, ribosomes stall when they encounter damaged mRNA or when cells are depleted of essential factors. Unresolved, stalled ribosomes have the potential to create harmful traffic jams inside the cell. A new study from the Karagöz lab, published in EMBO Journal, reveals how ribosome-associated quality control and UFMylation machinery cooperate to resolve stalled ribosomes at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). By uncovering the mechanistic interplay between these pathways, the researchers explain how cells overcome the physical constraints imposed by membrane-associated translation. Their findings provide an important link between ER proteostasis and ribosome rescue mechanisms.
FWF funding advances immune cell and imaging research
Two new research projects at the Perutz have been awarded funding from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). Led by group leaders Pavel Kovarik and Jonas Ries, the projects explore two very different but equally fundamental aspects of biology: how immune cells in the lungs rapidly adapt to infections and tissue damage, and how proteins move and change shape inside living cells. Together, the two grants provide more than €1.1 million in funding over three years.
FWF ESPRIT fellowship for postdoc Zach Marin to capture subcellular motion
Postdoctoral researcher Zach Marin (Ries lab) has been awarded an FWF ESPRIT Fellowship from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) to pursue an innovative microscopy project at the Perutz. Providing funding over three years, Zach’s project ‘Live-Cell Imaging of Clathrin Dynamics at the Nanoscale’ aims to develop faster super-resolution imaging approaches to visualize structural dynamics inside living cells at unprecedented resolution. The ESPRIT Postdoc fellowship supports early career researchers in preparing to establish their own research group in the future.
Rethinking stem cell culture
Studying the earliest stages of human development depends on stem cell models that are both biologically faithful and technically practicable. In a new study published in EMBO Journal, PhD student Michael Oberhuemer (Leeb lab) reports a simpler way to culture human naïve pluripotent stem cells – without relying on mouse feeder cells. By replacing these animal-derived support cells with a serum-based substrate and validating the approach together with multiple European collaborators, the team delivers a scalable and developmentally accurate culture system that lowers the barriers to human stem cell research.
Elif Karagöz leads FWF Emerging Fields research consortium
Perutz group leader Elif Karagöz will coordinate the prestigious FWF Emerging Fields consortium project ‘Translating the Ribosome Code of Pediatric Cancers’. Funded with nearly €6 million by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), the initiative brings together researchers from leading Vienna-based institutions, combining expertise that spans basic, translational, and patient-focused research. The collaborative project aims to uncover how ribosomes regulate protein production in childhood cancers and to explore whether this hidden layer of gene regulation can be harnessed to develop novel therapeutic strategies.
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